Epoxy rock coaster

ABSTRACT

An epoxy rock coaster is provided that absorbs and contains the condensation from drinking glasses, bottles and cans and excess water from plant pots. The epoxy coaster includes a composition of different sized stone aggregates mixed with an epoxy resin system. The composition is added to an open top plastic vessel having a flat bottom and upwardly extending side wall, completely filling the vessel wherein the composition surface is tooled to a flat exterior finish and cured. The composition solidifies, bonding to the interior bottom and side of the vessel forming a porous structure therein which creates voids and pockets within the structure providing openings to contain condensation and excess water from the drinking containers and plant pots.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to coasters, and in particular, to an epoxy rockcoaster composition of stone aggregate with an a epoxy resin systemcured within plastic vessel which absorbs and contains condensation fromthe exterior of containers such as glasses, bottles and cans, and alsocatches and contains excess water from plant and flower pots.

Coasters for liquid containers such as glasses, bottles and cans arewell known in protecting the surfaces of furniture and other surfacesupon which the containers have been placed. Generally, most coasters areadequate in protecting the support surfaces for a period of time buteventually the coasters become saturated with the buildup ofcondensation and spillage which then overflow onto and soak thesupporting surfaces. Many of these known coasters include soft absorbentmaterial, such as a fabric or other absorbent material, or othersupporting material in direct contact with the container which initiallyoften adheres to, and then, separates from the container when picked-upresulting in spillage and splashing of the drink. There are also knowncoasters of open top trays having hard surfaces which collect andcontain the condensation in order to overcome the adhering of thedrinking container to the coaster but in many situations the trayremains wet resulting in dripping from the pool of condensationremaining on the surface of the tray. A similar situation of overflowingwater exists with plant and flower pots where watering of the plants andflowers overflows onto and soaks the supporting surface unless there isa container present to catch and contain the overflowing water.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention an epoxy rock coaster is provided thatovercomes the deficiencies of prior art coasters for absorbing andcontaining the condensation formed on the exterior of glasses, bottlesand cans and scaled up in size to absorb and contain the excess waterwhen placed under flower and plant pots. The epoxy rock coasters of theinvention are a composition of different sized small particles of stoneaggregate mixed with an epoxy resin system. The composition is added toan open top plastic vessel having a flat bottom and an upwardlyextending side thereby completely filling the vessel where it is thentooled with a mason's trowel to a flat exterior finish and cured. Thecomposition solidifies to bond the composition to the interior bottomand side of the vessel and to bond the aggregates to one another forminga porous structure. The porous structure creates air voids between theaggregates which provide openings to contain the excess liquid from thedrinking container or plant pot. As this liquid is drawn down throughthe voids into the epoxy rock, it is then trapped and held by theplastic vessel. The damaging liquid is contained in the coasterpreventing it from contacting the furniture or other surface and theplastic vessel protects delicate surfaces from abrasive damage. Sinceevery aggregate is coated with epoxy during the mixing process, theepoxy rock coaster surface is extremely hard and stain resistant. Thehard surface provides a solid and non-adhering support for large andsmall drink containers and heavy plant pots and the plastic vesselprotects delicate surfaces from abrasive damage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described by the appended claims in relation todescription of preferred embodiments with reference in the followingdrawings which are explained briefly as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the epoxy rock coaster of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the coaster of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the coaster of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides a porous structured solid rock coaster 10designed to absorb and contain condensation that forms from drinkingcontainers such as beverage bottles, glasses and metal cans. Inaddition, the present coasters can be scaled up in size to catch andcontain excess water when placed under plant and flower pots.

The epoxy rock coaster is composed of a composition of mixed stoneaggregate cured with an epoxy resin system within a plastic vessel.Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the epoxy rock coaster 10 is illustrated.The vessel 12 is made of plastic, preferably polyethylene or othersuitable plastic material. Although the vessel is shown to be round, itcan be of any desired shape. Plastic vessel 12 has a flat bottom 14 andupward extending side wall 16. The exterior diameter of vessel 12 isabout four inches with an effective depth of wall 16 of about 0.25 inchto 0.35 inch, preferably about 0.31 inch. The thickness of the plasticis about 0.06 inch. The dimensions of the plastic vessels for plant andflower coasters can be proportionally increased in size as required.

The epoxy rock composition 18 is composed of small particles of stoneaggregate 20 mixed with an epoxy system. The stone aggregate 20preferably comprises seashell, synthetic or natural aggregates mixtureof about 1/16 inch to 3/16 inch in size. The epoxy system is a two partsystem containing equal amounts of epoxy resin and catalyst. Preferably,the epoxy resin contains the reaction product of epichlorohydrin andbisphenol A and the catalyst contains monononphenol,polyoxypropylenediamine and n-aminoethylpiperazine.

In preparation of the epoxy rock coaster of FIG. 1, 0.05 ounce of epoxyresin and 0.05 ounce of catalyst were combined in a mixing pail andstirred for about three minutes. Next, 2.75 ounces of fine aggregatehaving an individual stone diameter of 1/16 inch to 3/16 inch were addedand continued to mix for one minute. This mixture was then placed in thevessel 12 where its surface was tooled with a mason's trowel to a flatplane. The epoxy rock coaster was then allowed to set for twenty-fourhours to allow the composition to completely cure.

The epoxy rock composition solidifies bonding the composition to theinterior bottom 14 and side wall 16 of the vessel 12. The stoneaggregates 20 are bonded to one another and forming the porous structureshown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 by creating air voids between the aggregates.The condensation and liquid is then trapped and held within the plasticvessel. The condensation and liquid is contained in the coaster and isthereby prevented from contacting the underlying surface of furniture orother underlying support. The plastic vessel protects the underlyingsurface from abrasive damage. Having every stone aggregate coated withthe epoxy during the mixing and curing process provides an extremelyhard coaster surface with excellent stain resistance. The hard surfaceprovides a solid and non-adhering coaster for supporting large and drinkcontainers and heavy plant pots. The plastic vessel 12 protects delicatesurfaces from abrasive damage.

In a field test in showing its efficiency, the four inch diameter epoxyrock coaster of the invention was able to absorb one half of one ounceof water before containment was breached which is excellent containmentfor a hard surface non-adhering coaster of that size.

Although the present coaster has excellent stain resistance due to eachstone aggregate coated with cured epoxy, stains which occur can beremoved by immersing the coaster in a solution of fifty percent chlorinebleach and fifty percent water. For grease and petroleum stains, a smallamount of dish washing detergent removes the foreign matter. Afterrinsing the epoxy rock coaster drains quickly and dries at roomtemperature.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various substitutions,omissions, and modifications and changes may be made in the epoxy rockcoaster of the invention without departing from the scope and spiritthereof.

1. An epoxy rock coaster comprising; a composition of stone aggregateand epoxy system mixed, cured and adhered together, contained within anopen top plastic vessel having an upward extending side wall, completelyfilling the vessel and forming an upper hard flat surface porouscomposition structure adhered to the bottom and side wall of the vessel.2. The epoxy rock coaster according to claim 1 wherein the stoneaggregate comprises seashell, synthetic or natural stone particles. 3.The epoxy rock coaster according to claim 2 wherein the stone particlesare about 1/16 to 3/16 inch in diameter.
 4. The epoxy rock coaster ofclaim 1 wherein the epoxy system comprises a two part system of epoxyresin and catalyst hardener.
 5. The epoxy rock coaster of claim 4wherein the epoxy resin is the reaction product of epichlorohydrin andbisphenol A and the catalyst hardener includes mononophenol,polypropyllenediamine and N-aminoethylpirperzine.
 6. The epoxy rockcoaster of claim 1 wherein the open top plastic vessel is about fourinches in diameter and the upward extending side wall is about fivesixteenth of an inch in height.
 7. The epoxy rock coaster according toclaim 6 wherein the plastic vessel is made of polyethylene.